Exclussions and Belongings in the Dominican Republic: Navigating Statelessness and Power in Bateyes.

Citizenship is not only a legal status but a lived experience shaped by intersecting systems of power, identity, and exclusion. This presentation, based on ongoing research titled "Exclusions and Belongings in the Dominican Republic: The Case of the Bateyes," explores how residents of marginalized sugar plantation communities, primarily inhabited by Haitian migrants and their descendants, referred to as Bateyes, navigate complex dynamics of race, nationality, and socio-economic status. Many Dominicans of Haitian descent within these communities are stateless, facing profound social and political exclusion.

By analyzing how individuals and groups assert their place in society, this study investigates how Bateyes residents challenge and subvert dominant frameworks of citizenship. Through an intersectional approach, it examines how various forms of legal, spatial, and social exclusion shape their daily lives, while identifying the ways they cultivate cultural practices, community networks, and acts of resistance. The presentation will also explore how broader social transformations, such as labor exploitation and migration, impact their experiences.

Focusing on the interplay between local and transnational contexts, this research broadens our understanding of citizenship struggles and the power dynamics that sustain systemic inequalities. It contributes to ongoing discussions on decolonization by examining how marginalized communities, despite facing systemic barriers, construct new frameworks of belonging that challenge conventional notions of the nation-state and citizenship, thus highlighting the significance of their experiences for future research and policy.